SF360: Stanley Nelson on the Jonestown tragedy

SF360: Stanley Nelson on the Jonestown tragedy

Of the many surreal moments that make up “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple,,” some of the most surprising come courtesy of esteemed left-of-center politicians of the city and country in the ’70s. Willie Brown, Jimmy Carter, and George Moscone all courted the Reverend Jim Jones and his supporters. In a few short years, the church leader, who talked the talk of the times–socialism and racial integration–had become a part of the infrastructure of San Francisco. When his group imploded in the jungles of South America Nov. 18, 1978, it took a giant piece of SF’s idealism down with it. Susan Gerhard reports.